Love me like you do
by Its-Deleted-Will-Not-Be-Revive
Summary: Annabeth Chase loved Percy Jackson, her best friend, from her first year at Hogwarts. Now she's in fifth year and hopelessly in love with Percy. She doesn't confess her love to him in the fear that she'll lose him. But she suspects that maybe, Percy likes her. This year, she's determined to find out. AU. Rated T for kissing.
1. Prologue

**Hope you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rick Riordan and J K Rowling. I just own a few plots and OOC's.**

* * *

 **Love Me Like You Do**

 **PROLOGUE**

 _An excerpt from Annabeth Chase's diary:_

I still remember how I met Percy. How could I ever forget? It was September 1st, five years from now. I was about to start my journey from Hogwarts for the first time. My mom, Athena Chase, had come to see me off at platform 9 3/4. We had just crossed the barrier when someone's trolley collided with mine, making me fall. I looked up glaring. But the face I saw made my scowl disappear replaced by an astonished expression.

The boy who had collided with me had raven black hair and startlingly beautiful sea-green eyes. His hair was tousled with tufts sticking out at random places. I was on the verge of hyper ventilating. He was grinning apologetically down to me. He stretched out a hand and said sheepishly, "Sorry, I should really pay attention to where I'm heading."

I can't help grinning back and say, "No harm done, it's not a problem at all." I took the hand he offered and he pulled me up.

"So, what's your name?" he asked me.

"Chase, Annabeth Chase. And you?"

"Bond, James Bond. Pleased to meet you," he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously,

"Hey, stop fooling with me," I said laughing. I had barely known him for five minutes yet he made me feel so relaxed and comfortable, like we had known each other for years.

He laughed too and said, "OK no fooling with you, my name's Perseus Jackson. But don't call me Perseus. I hate being called as that. Call me Percy."

My mom had stood silent throughout this conversation. Now, she couldn't stay quiet any longer. She cleared her throat and said, "Annabeth, dear we should get moving. The train will leave in ten minutes." She stared at Percy, analysing him. She seemed to think he was alright because she gave a tight little smile a second later.

"Right mom, let's go. Meet you on the train, Percy," I said, glancing back at Percy, waving him goodbye.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, after the train had started on its long journey to Hogwarts (I knew this through my cousin, Malcolm), I hear the door of my compartment sliding open. I looked up to see who it was. I had found a compartment which was thankfully empty. I was not one to socialize with people. I was reading _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot, when this happened.

Percy was standing at the doorway accompanied by a girl with choppy black hair and murderous, thunderous blue eyes who looked a year elder than me, a boy who looked our age with blond hair and blue eyes which matched the girl's but without the 'murderous' look and a boy with shaggy, midnight black hair and matching eyes.

"Hey Annabeth," said Percy warmly. "Mind if we join you? Everywhere else is full"

"Sure." I told him, eyeing his companions. "Not to be rude, but who are they?"

The girl snorted, "I like her attitude. I think we'll get along real good. I'm Thalia Grace, Kelp Head here is my cousin." She says indicating Percy. Percy retaliated to the nickname by saying, "Pinecone Face."

Thalia looked like she's going to throw back another nickname at his face and start a full on fight, when the blond boy interrupted, "Shut it, Thalia," he said. Turning to me he said, "Ignore my sister. She's in second year but she still acts like a kid. I'm Jason Grace, by the way, her brother."

"I'm Nico di Angelo," said the black-haired boy, from the shadows, very quietly, making everyone jump. "Nico, don't do that, will you? It gives me the creeps," complained Thalia.

"It's nice meeting all of you," I told them, grinning broadly. I never thought I'd make friends so fast at Hogwarts. "I think we're going to be great friends."

And we are. To this day, from five years, we are and have been. Sure, we all fight once in a while but we are inseparable. Especially, Percy and me. But I want Percy to be more than best friends to me. Why, you ask? Because I am in love with Percy Jackson. But on the other hand, I'm afraid that he will not return my feelings and I will end up without a best friend. Sometimes, Percy also acts as if he likes me. He stares at me when I'm not looking and turns away, blushing. He holds my hand while we are walking in the grounds and last year he kissed me on the cheek. So I wonder, is Percy in love with me too? This year I'm determined to find out.

* * *

 **How was it? Please review. It will help me improve the story line and get more ideas. Got a light bulb for improving the story? Please include it in the review. I know there's not much to review, after all it's the prologue, but first impressions are the most important. Also, what do you think about the title? Is it good for this story, or should I change it? If you have any suggestions which is better than "Love me like you do", again, write it in the review. I'll be updating the next chapter real soon, as I'm on vacation (Dasara holidays. In India we have it each year in October , Dasara's an awesome ten-day Hindu festival, so we get about two weeks' time holidays. Want to know more about Dasara, PM me or Google it) ~ Aisha**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hi! Here's the next chapter. And thank you for the reviews it really helped.**

 **MaiChiTheFangirl and a guest – Thank you for the suggestion to change the story from regular to crossover. I was doubtful whether to do that or not, at first, since it was my first here. But now that you've confirmed it, I will change it into crossover. Glad you liked it** **.**

 **Wisegirl9876 – So glad you loved the story. Since PJO and HP are two of my fave reads, I decided to fuse it. Happy to find a fellow Indian too. Enjoy dasara!**

 **A guest reviewed my story too. She felt that Annabeth should be more mature and well "wise – girly" I guess. So yeah, I am definitely going to make those changes in this chapter. I felt that she was still 11 so she'd be a little less mature than what's in the books. Don't worry, Annabeth Chase will be the "Wise Girl" from this chapter. I found another Indian on and I am glad I did. Happy Dasara!**

* * *

 **Chapter – 1**

 **Annabeth**

I tapped my foot impatiently. Percy was late. _Again._ We had been boarding the Hogwart's Express for the past four years and each and every time Percy came just as the train was leaving. The clock struck 11. As if on cue, Percy came out of the barrier, skidding to a halt to avoid himself from falling into the railway tracks. His mother, Sally Jackson, shook her head, her eyes dancing with amusement and exasperation. She waved to me with a warm smile and I waved back.

I was holding the door open for him. He heaved his trunk out of the trolley and threw his owl Blackjack towards me. I catch it deftly and hiss to Percy, "Hurry you idiot, the train's moving!"

He threw his trunk inside the train and climbs on to the train like an acrobat. He gestured _ta da_ and I just rolled my eyes. "You're such a Seaweed Brain, you know, you were just about to miss the train," I said.

"I will never miss the train to school, however late I might be. School's just too much fun to miss," said Percy as we made our way to the compartment. "Oh just you wait, fifth year's OWL year. All teachers will keep our noses in the grindstone. I, for one, am going to study hard, and I'll make sure you do too," I told him severely. "Aw Wise Girl, why should I worry about studying hard, when I have a brilliant friend like you to lend me notes? And you're a Prefect too, so I don't have to worry about getting into trouble!" he said triumphantly, slinging his arm around my shoulder, which made my heart flutter.

"If you're under the impression that I'll let you off scot free for all the pranks you do just because you're my best friend, think again. I'm taking my duties very seriously." We had reached our compartment by now. Thalia, Jason and Nico, along with our new friends, Piper, Hazel, Grover and Frank were sitting in one of the bigger compartments on the train.

"So the Kelp Head finally made it on the train, eh? I had the hope that maybe this year Hogwarts would have one less idiot," smirked Thalia, which earned a punch on her arm from Percy.

Jason got up. He was the boy Prefect with me this year. It was time for us to report to the Head Boy and Girl for our duties. "Be back soon. Come on Annabeth," he said.

* * *

We went to the Heads' compartment. The fifth year Prefects from other houses were already there and the Head Girl, Silena Beauregard says, "Ah, the Gryffindor Prefects. Come in, we were just giving out the train duties," she smiled. She is really beautiful with long dark hair and gentle azure blue eyes. Her Head Girl badge had the colour yellow on it, to signify that she was from Hufflepuff, just like my Prefect Badge had red, to signify that I was from Gryffindor.

"So the train duties are simple. Just go about the train, maybe a couple of patrols and if anyone's being a nuisance, dock only five points from them. Not more than that. If it's any serious offence report to us immediately. The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Prefects will take up the morning duty while Hufflepuff and Slytherin will take up the evening duty. When you are relieved of your duty, you're free to go to your compartments," Malcolm Chase, the Head Boy from Ravenclaw, and my cousin, lectured the group. He looked like he's about to give more instructions when Silena said, "That's quite enough Malcolm. They'll understand." She added, looking at us, "Off you go to you duties. Malcolm will also be patrolling in the morning."

* * *

After a long morning of patrolling, telling off several students for jinxing their friends or playing with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Jason and I headed to our compartment. Immediately after entering the compartment, I find myself wet from head to toe, caused by a spray of water from Percy's wand. "Not funny Seaweed Brain. Not funny at all," I growled at him, giving my best death glare, which made him recoil a little. Since I could not jinx him back, I dried myself using a spell and without anybody noticing, stomped on Percy's toes. "Ooph," he groaned.

"Now you'd better think twice before jinxing or pranking me Seaweed Brain," I whispered to him, with a hint of laughter in my voice. He made an adorable puppy face, which always made me want to kiss him so badly, and said, "Sorry."

"Apology accepted."

Soon the food trolley came around and we almost emptied the witch's supplies. We gorged ourselves on sweets, chocolates, Bertie Bott's beans and Chocolate frogs. Poor Frank seemed to have got a vomit flavoured bean and he didn't eat anything else for the rest of the afternoon. We talked about every subject we knew about and we landed up on the subject of the exams.

"So Thals, what are the grades again?" asked Piper, popping a chocolate frog into her mouth.

"Best grade is 'O' as in 'Outstanding', followed by 'E' - 'Exceeds Expectations' , 'A' – 'Acceptable' , and the next three are fail grades – 'P' – 'Poor', 'D' – 'Dreadful', 'T' – 'Troll'," said Thalia, who had already passed the OWLs and was in sixth year. "Honestly Piper, I think I have told you a hundred times when you came home. You still did not get it?" she added looking at Piper with an exasperated look. Piper was officially dating Jason now, and she had stayed over for a few weeks in their home. She rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of grades Pinecone Face, did you get a Troll for looks? Cause you sure look like a troll," teased Percy. Thalia got a murderous look in her eyes and began thrashing Percy with a pillow, which I think she brought for this sole purpose. "I. Am. _Not._ Pinecone. Face. And. Perseus. Jackson. _You._ Are. The. Troll. Here," said Thalia, with a pause between each word, when she hit Percy with the pillow.

Percy spluttered, "Ok, Ok, I give up. Stop hitting me to death Thalia." At the same time I shouted, "Cut it out both of you or I'll end up giving you detention."

This brought them both to their senses and Thalia subsided into her seat, stroking Aegis, her handsome tawny owl, eyeing Percy menacingly all the time. The others were all struggling to control their laughter and suddenly Jason gave a snigger and everyone started roaring with including Thalia and Percy. Both of them fought a lot, but they always got over it in minutes.

The rest of the journey continued in peace. There was a lot of debate on who will be the Care Of Magical Creatures, now that Hagrid had decided to retire to only doing his gamekeeper duties. Most of us reckoned it would be Professor Grubbly-Plank who sometimes acted as substitute teacher when Hagrid could not take the class.

By dusk, the landscape started to change to the familiar landscape that surrounded Hogwarts. All of us had already put on our Hogwarts robes and ties – red for Percy, Jason, Nico, Thalia and me, since we were in Gryffindor and yellow for Frank, Hazel and Piper who were in Hufflepuff.

Finally, after another hour of waiting, the train slowly came to a stop in the Hogsmeade station. Hagrid's familiar cry of, "Firs' years over here, firs' years!" reached our ears. A tall man with a huge, greying beard and beetle black eyes stood with a lamp, herding up all the scared little first years. I had Prefect duties to fulfil, as the Prefect's Guide (which Malcolm had handed to all the Prefects after their patrols) told me. I had to make sure that everyone had caught a carriage which would take them up to school. So, I hurried up to the front, where the carriages stood.

* * *

The great hall was as spectacular as ever, with the hundreds of candles which were feely suspended in the air, to the beautiful ceiling which reflected the atmosphere outside. Professor McGonagall, the Headmistress and Transfiguration Professor stood with the Sorting Hat in one hand and a long list of first year students' name who were to be sorted into the four houses. Behind her, stood the first years in a line, according to the alphabetical order of their last name.

The Sorting took up an hour. After 'Zach, Millicent' was Sorted into Ravenclaw, Professor McGonagall went up to the Headmistress's podium and said, "Welcome to Hogwarts! Let the feast begin!" She seldom wasted words. As she said this the dishes and plates filled up. There was a great cheer and clapping, and Percy who was sitting next to me, said with shining eyes, "Welcome home."

* * *

 **So this is the first chapter. The first few chapters are basically going to be the exposition for the story, where I'll introduce all the characters, including Luke and Rachel, who will have a pivotal role in Percy and Annabeth's relationship. So yeah, not much of Percabeth in these chapters. The next chapter will be Percy's POV.** **The chapters will alternately go between Percy and Annabeth's POV. So did you like it? And did you like the idea of including all the original Hogwarts Professors in the story Please write your opinions in the story, the reviews for the Prologue helped me a lot. ~ Aisha**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hi! Sorry, couldn't update earlier because electricity was out on Sunday and I was also down with fever. Anyway here's the second chapter in Percy's POV. Enjoy!**

 **Here are my replies for the latest reviews:**

 **MaiChiTheFangirl - Ohh! so you want Annabeth to become naughty? I'll try, maybe she'll consent to play some pranks with Percy in the future chapters.**

 **Anomoyous - Yes I did add a chapter, and will update very soon. And thanks for thinking its good (otherwise why'd you ask me to add more chapters?)**

 **Guest - I have written more, hope you like it!**

* * *

 **Chapter-2**

 **Percy **

The first thing that I felt when I woke up was a sharp pain on my forehead. I turned around groggily. Grover, my classmate, had hit me on the forehead with a book. "D'you know what the time is, mate?" he asked me. I turned around to my bedside table, to check my watch. The dial showed 9:20.

"Oh crap," I said, bolting out of bed. "Why didn't you guys wake me up sooner, Grover? Classes start in 10 minutes! And we have McGonagall in the first hour, she'll kill me if I'm late the first day," I added, frantically searching for a fresh set of robes.

"Well, we tried everything we could, but I think you were granted a boon by the God of Sleep when you were young, because nothing seemed to work," said Grover. "Bye, gotta go, meet you in class. Don't be late." He hurried out of the room.

I quickly changed into a set of robes, tried to comb my unruly hair (though I knew that I was fighting a long-lost battle), stuffed the books for the subjects I had before lunch and some parchment and a quill and skidded out of the dorm.

* * *

All the Gryffindor fifth years were already seated, except Annabeth who of course, was waiting for me. As soon as she saw me, she yelled, "Perseus Jackson," I flinched – I hated the sound of my full name and Annabeth knew it. She proceeded, "I thought you would be more responsible this year that you are in fifth. But _noo_ you are just becoming more and more careless and irresponsible. You were late for the train, and now you're late for class. I think I should come to the boys' dorm every morning and whack you with …."

"A book to wake me up," I interrupt. "Yeah Grover just did that in the morning instead of you. Hey don't be so angry, it's not good for health. Besides, I'm not late right? McGonagall hasn't come to class yet," I said, making myself comfortable in one of the chairs near the back of the class. Annabeth took a seat beside me. She looked really pretty today, with her honey blonde hair back up in a braid and her grey eyes stormy. She always looked pretty.

"What?" Annabeth questioned me and I realized I must have been staring. I blushed, sincerely hoping Annabeth couldn't see it. How could I tell her that I had a crush on her from last year? Nope, she'd probably pull her wand out and jinx me.

"Nothing," I said, shrugging nonchalantly. She studied me for a few seconds and turned away with the tiniest smile on her face. Just then a cat, with square spectacle marks around its eyes came in, stood near the teacher's table and changed into Professor Minerva McGonagall in a swirl of colours.

"Good morning class," said Professor McGonagall, as if it were completely normal for cats to change into teachers (and after so many classes, it almost becomes a normal thing). "We will be taking up Vanishing and Switching this year. For now, we will be taking up Vanishing. Vanishing is making and object disappear completely, without a trace," she said, her eyes sweeping across the class.

Annabeth raised her hand. I smiled inwardly. She was the best in the class and her brain would start working like crazy when something was told.

"Yes, Miss Chase?" said the Professor, nodding in Annabeth's direction.

"Professor, where do things go when they are Vanished?"

"Good question, Miss Chase. Vanished objects go into the non-being, which is to say everything **(remember? :)** **)** ," Professor said. "Sit down Miss Chase. Let us begin. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Underwood, please distribute these pincushions, you are to Vanish these pincushions in this class."

Grover and I go up to Professor McGonagall and receive boxes full of pincushions. We distribute them to the class and go up to our respective places.

By the time the class is over, Annabeth, Jason and I are the only people who didn't get homework of practising the Vanishing spell (Annabeth helped me little so I didn't get homework. Ok I admit it, she helped me a lot). We head to Potions, chattering about what potions Professor Slughorn might have set us.

* * *

By lunch I'm exhausted. After Transfiguration, we had Potions (which was ok, I did quite well in it. My potion was not exactly the shade of green that the Beautifying Potion had to be, but it would fetch me at least an A), Charms (which was a cakewalk as usual, we had a revision class for the Summoning and Banishing Spell) and then Ancient Runes (Annabeth and I are the only ones who have taken this subject from Gryffindor. I'm surprisingly good at deciphering the Runes but it is still a little tiring). All the three teachers have given us long essays to write, the shortest essay being three feet long.

I complained about this to Annabeth as we made our way to the Gryffindor table. All she said was, "I told you on the train right? The Professors are going to keep our noses in the grindstone." Then she looked at a Slytherin boy playing with a Fanged Frisbee and said sternly, "Five points from Slytherin and that Frisbee is confiscated." She snatched the Frisbee from the boy and immediately I said, "Can I have it? I want it so much, please?" I make puppy dog eyes which I know will make her change her mind immediately.

"Fine," she sighed. "I'll give it to you after the year's ended. I can't have you getting into trouble you know."

"Whoa, you care about me way too much Annabeth. But still, I'll get it in June right? It'll annoy Tyson so much," I said. Annabeth had turned red at the 'you care about me too much' comment. Weird.

We had come to the Gryffindor table by now. I plopped down beside Jason and Leo Valdez, another classmate of mine. Thalia was sitting right opposite to Jason and she greeted me with her customary, "Kelp Head."

I nodded, "Pinecone Face." This was just our way of greeting each other. We didn't take offence now. I started ladling some soup into my bowl. Just then there was a disturbance. A person with blonde hair and blue eyes had entered the Great Hall. I think he was new, because I had never seen him before. He was really handsome, except that it was ruined by a long scar running from his eye to his mouth. He wore Slytherin robes and he was making his way to the teachers' table.

I bent over to Annabeth and asked, "Have you seen him here before?" Annabeth had a frown on her face as if she knew him but couldn't recognize him.

"I think I've seen him somewhere . . ." she trailed off. I knew that Annabeth hated to be in the middle of a puzzle she could not solve. But I knew her expressions very well. Her face did not look puzzled, it looked _troubled_. As if the new boy had done a dark deed and she remembered it vaguely.

"Attention please," Professor McGonagall clapped her hands. "This is Luke Castellan, he is from Durmstrang and he will be joining us from today. He will be in Slytherin," the Professor smiled and beckoned him over to the Slytherin table.

There were a lot of whispers, but I think I was the only one to see that Annabeth's troubled expression had turned to a one of horrified shock.

* * *

 **Cliffhanger! Well sort of. Who is this Luke? Why is Annabeth so shocked to see him? And Percy has a crush on Annabeth! So sweet! I love reviewing my own plot like this ;). Anyway, I think I'll reveal the character of Luke through Annabeth in the following chapter. And believe me, the plot will get better and better! I'll try to update within two days (I need a lot of planning for the next chapter). BTW, have you checked out Aria Taylor's stories? Do check them out, they're awesome. ~ Aisha**

 **P.S. - I know that in the last chapter's A/N I had mentioned that McGonagall will not be taking Transfiguration, now that she's a Headmistress, but then I thought, 'Hey, Umbridge was a Headmistress too (for however short a time and however unpopular she was) but she did take Defence Against the Dark Arts, so why not Professor McGonagall?' So yeah, sorry for the mistake I made in the A/N. I'll change it right now.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Here's the third chapter. As I promised you in the last A/N, the plot's going to thicken! I'm sorry I posted a little late. I kinda hit a dead end while writing this chapter and had to rewrite once. I hope its good because the whole story's gonna be bad if it isn't.**

 **Here are my review replies:**

 **MaiChiTheFangirl - Yes, Neville Longbottom is going to be Professor Longbottom, teaching Herbology. I've planned to have a chapter in which Percy and Annabeth are in Herbology.**

 **EmmaSEWW - I am sorry that I didn't update real soon, because, well I have mentioned it in the A/N. Oops! Anyway, here's the chapter, so enjoy reading it!**

 **RevolutionLover - I am so glad that you love the story and I hope you like what will happen next.**

 **Cloakofhades - I must say, I'm really happy to find so many Indian writers here. Its awesome to meet (? Its not exactly meet is it?) another Indian too.**

* * *

 **Chapter-3**

 **Annabeth**

 _An excerpt from Annabeth Chase's Diary_

 _July 12_

I was in camp, like I always was in the summers. The camp was for young witches and wizards. My mother had been sending me here ever since I joined Hogwarts. None of my friends came here, to Camp of Wizardry.

I wished they were here. It was my fourteenth birthday, and I was all alone. I was lost in my thoughts, sitting on the grass near the Quidditch pitch of the camp when suddenly a boy plopped down beside me. I knew that his name was Luke, and that he was in the Slytherin cabin (the cabin system was based on the Hogwarts houses). He smiled at me and said, "I'm Luke," much to my discomfort. I didn't like random people coming and sitting beside me and introducing themselves. He had blonde hair which was combed neatly (unlike Percy's which was always so unruly) and blue eyes and looked two or three years elder to me.

"I'm Annabeth. Which house are you in?" I asked, though I knew the answer.

"Slytherin. I'm guessing you're in Gryffindor?" asked Luke, gesturing to my Gryffindor Quidditch robes. "And that you play Quidditch. Are you any good?"

"Yes, I am in Gryffindor and I do play Quidditch. I play quite well in the Keeper position. Sorry if I'm being rude, but do you go to Hogwarts? I've never seen you there."

"Durmstrang. I go to Durmstrang."

"Then how do you know that you belong in Slytherin house? It's not like they keep the Sorting Hat here."

"Well, the Durmstrang also has a similar house system and I was in the house which was much like Slytherin, so yeah, I chose that cabin," he shrugged.

I kept quiet. This boy made me uneasy. He was from Durmstrang, a school that was rumoured to practice the Dark Arts _and_ he had gone to the Slytherin cabin out of his own free will. Here, in Camp of Wizardry, we could choose any cabin we wanted. Since most of the campers were from Hogwarts, they chose their own house cabins, but sometimes when a Durmstrang or Beauxbatons or any other wizarding school student came in summer, they were free to choose any of the four.

Luke broke the silence, "You know, I'm quite alone here. And I think you are too, so why don't we be friends?" he asked me. I didn't want to be friends with Luke, because my instincts told me that he was evil or twisted in some way and was sure to get me into some kind of trouble. And my instincts were usually right on the dot. Also, I had seen Luke with some of the kids in Slytherin. Were they not his friends? But if he was playing a game, I decided that two can play at it.

"Fine, friends," I said, a small smile gracing my lips. Then I stood up and said, "I'd better go. My teammates told me to be at the pitch by four." Waving goodbye to my sinister new friend, I ran towards the cabins to fetch my Nimbus Two Thousand and Two broomstick.

 _August 20_

The days at camp had passed in a flurry. The Gryffindor team had won the Camp Cup, and were leading in the points. We had been allowed to go to Diagon Alley for a day, to pick up all our supplies. Luke had accompanied me to the stores, which made me feel a little uncomfortable, but all the same, cheerful. He had been very nice to me since we became friends, but little did I know that it was like the calm before a storm.

It was the last day of camp. I couldn't wait to see my friends, especially Percy. I had missed seeing his mischievous green eyes and hearing his cheeky jokes. Tomorrow I would see him along with most of my other friends at the Leaky Cauldron, where they would come to buy their essentials for the year. Then I would go and spend an enjoyable week at Thalia's, which was very close to Percy's place, so I could be with him all week, listening to his cheesy jokes and playing Quidditch. I smiled at the thought. It was night at camp. I was sitting at the edge of the forest surrounding the camp. It was a beautiful night. The stars shone brightly, all the constellations were seen. I was very interested in space and therefore knew a lot about stars. I stood first in the Astronomy class. I traced Orion with my finger.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a silhouette of a person making his way towards me. I looked down to see that it was none other than Luke. I smiled at him. He had been good company for me in these holidays, now I had almost removed all suspicion about him from my mind.

"Hi," greeted Luke.

"Hi, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Just checking on you," Luke shrugged. "Can't I check on a friend?"

"Yes, yes you can."

"Anyway the real reason I came here was because I wanted to take a walk with you in the woods, one last time before we leave for our schools," he said. "Care to join me?"

Walking in the woods was something we did a couple of times previously. The woods were beautiful, especially at night. I would've agreed at once, but I saw something in Luke's eyes that made me step back and think a little. There was a hungry sort of gleam in his blue eyes. But then Luke said casually, "Also, I have a stash of Butterbeer hidden away in the woods."

To this, my willpower crumbled. I hadn't tasted real Butterbeer for quite a while now, and I was quite fond of it too.

"Sure why not?"

"Awesome," Luke grinned and stood up. I stood up too and said, "Let's go."

We walked in silence for most of the time. Nightingales sang in their beautiful voices and fireflies buzzed about.

About fifteen minutes into the woods, I felt an odd chill at my waist. Luke was slithering his hand around my waist. Horrified, I demanded, "What the hell do you think you're doing Luke?!"

"Aww, come on Annie, open up. I like you and you like me. So why don't we spill the beans to each other?"

I was so horrified that I felt like I was spinning. But I'm not the kind of girl to lose my nerves and break down. Instead, I felt white hot anger filling my chest. In the calmest, firmest voice I could muster I said, "Luke, get a grip on yourself. Firstly, I don't like to be called Annie. Second, whatever might be your feelings for me, know that I'll never return it back. So forget about having a relationship with me and kindly remove your arm from my waist." I bore my grey eyes into him like gimlets.

Nothing I said seemed to have an effect on Luke. His eyes narrowed and he did take away his hand, but he just placed both his hands on my shoulders and slammed me against a tree, painfully. It was all I could do to keep myself from crying out loud. Luke lowered his face so that it was inches away from mine and growled, "That's not true. You do like me. A lot. And I like you too. Let me show you." He smirked. Before I could retaliate, he smashed his lips on to mine. His arms formed a cage around me which I couldn't get out of. He was kissing me so fiercely that I felt as if my lips would fall apart. I did not respond to his sudden, disgusting kiss. One of his arms made its way down to my waist, sending horrible shivers down my back. Then, his hand went to the rim of my shirt and under it, now making its way up.

Never had I been so helpless, so afraid or so panicked. But the moment that hand went under my shirt, my helplessness and fear turned to red burning rage. All I could see now was red. I kicked Luke hard in the shin, so hard that he pulled out of the forced embrace and let out a loud cry of pain. I clenched my hands into fists and punched him hard in the face. His face turned and he stumbled back. His face struck against a large branch with a sharp end which left a long gash extending from cheekbone to mouth. I was sure that it would leave a scar. I felt a kind of vindictive pleasure. Not only had I hurt this wicked, twisted boy who had tried to harass me but also, I had left a scar which had marred his once handsome features. Before he could hit me with one of his own punches, I aimed another blow at his abdomen and my fist collided with it with a sickening sound. He spat out blood and wheezed.

Taking advantage of his momentary breathlessness, I slammed him against the very tree I had collided with, when he pushed me. I hissed in his ear, "Never _ever_ dare approach a girl like that again, you asshole." I aimed another punch at his head and he went out like a light which wasn't getting electricity. I let go of him and he collapsed into a sorry heap, covered with blood on the mossy floor. I left him there. When he regained consciousness, he would find his way back. All the energy and power which had coursed through me had drained out now. All I wanted to do now was sit and cry until all my tears dried up. But I wouldn't, I _couldn't_ cry in front of Luke. When I turned to go back to the cabins, I heard him stirring. I took out my wand (which I hadn't realized was there in my pocket), aimed it at Luke, who was just beginning to open his eyes and shouted, " _Stupefy!"_ Then, I didn't look back,I sprinted towards the cabins, as fast as my fatigued legs could take me. My left leg was paining from that kick I gave to Luke. But I was at the doorstep of the huge, red mansion which was the home of the forty or so Gryffindor campers. Most of them were at the dining pavilion and the dormitories were quite empty. I crashed onto my bed and cried my heart out.

* * *

I had hoped that it wasn't him in the Great Hall. I had recognized his blonde hair and blue eyes and scar at once, but I reasoned that, weren't there many such people who had blonde hair, blue eyes and a scar? So why should it be _him._ It was my last, desperate hope. I knew it wouldn't come true. But only did I accept that it was Luke Castellan, the boy who had tried to harm me two summers ago, who had come to Hogwarts, when Professor McGonagall announced it. I felt horror and shock wash over me like a great wave.

The rest of the day passed in a daze. I made it through the last four classes without breaking down, but as soon as the last class was over, it was hard to hold back the tears. Why? Why should I cry? I thought. Because you need to release all the pent-up pain and anger inside you, a voice whispered at the back of my mind. I listened to the voice. I broke into a run, instinctively making my way to the bathroom. I heard Percy call out my name behind me. He had sent worried glances in my direction all through the afternoon. I hadn't told him what had happened that day to me. I'll have to tell him later. He deserves the truth.

I stayed in the washroom for a half hour or so, crying my heart out. Then I pulled myself up. I couldn't let myself break down like this. I have to be strong. I _am_ strong.

As I left the washroom, after washing my face, rubbing my tears out of my cheeks, I saw a figure leaning against the wall to my right. I tightened up. Was it him, that bastard whom I never wanted to see again?

"Annabeth, there you are," a familiar, warm voice said. Percy. I turn around and manage a weak smile. "I was worried what had happen to you." His eyes were showing worry. He came over to my side.

"Well, Luke Castellan was the last person I wanted and expected to see at Hogwarts," I said, shrugging my shoulders. I looked into Percy's beautiful sea-green eyes and added, "Percy, I haven't really been honest with you. I'm sorry about that." Then I narrated the whole incident to him. As I was narrating it, tears threatening to spill out of my eyes, Percy's eyes took on a darker shade and hardened. A sure sign that he is in a rage.

After I finished, Percy hissed, "How dare he, that asshole! I'm going to _kill_ him." He turned to me and said, "Don't worry Annabeth. He won't get near you as long as I'm alive." Then his expression changed to hurt and he said, "Why didn't you tell me this before, Wise Girl?"

"I didn't want to bother you and it was too painful to share," I felt the tears spilling over my eyes. Then, Percy pulls me into a hug. He is so warm, and his embrace is so comfortable that I feel like I have to stay there forever. He smells like wind and the sea. I hug him back, burying my face into his chest. Something about this hug surprises me. Not like we haven't hugged before, but this hug seems so . . . different.

"Wise Girl, I'm your best friend. Nothing you tell me would bother me, you know. I wouldn't feel hurt if you told I look like an ugly ape." I laughed at this. Trust Percy to make me laugh, even when I'm miserable. "But if you _didn't_ tell me something, that would make me hurt. So don't keep things from me Wise Girl, and I guarantee you that I haven't kept anything from you."

"A) I'm not going to call you an ugly ape because I don't think you are one. B) Thanks for making me laugh. C) I'm really sorry I didn't tell you this and I won't keep anything from you." I smiled at Percy. How I wish I could tell him that I loved him! But I'm so afraid that I'll lose him for good if I do that. I know, it makes me such a coward, and I'm supposed to be brave, because the Sorting Hat put me in Gryffindor.

I realize we were both staring at each other like love-struck idiots. I clear my throat and turn away, my face burning red and a small smile playing on my lips. I see that Percy's face has a similar look. All these small things like the time he gave me a peck on the cheek or stared at me like he just did now or the way he laces his fingers into mine when we are walking in the grounds make me wonder if he likes me too. He must, otherwise why would he do all that?

A ridiculous grin replaced the small smile which was on my lips. Percy frowned, "What?"

"Oh, telling someone lifted a huge load off my shoulders so I just felt like grinning," I said hurriedly, not wanting him to find out the real reason.

"Oh well, everyone's a bit paranoid at times," he said, with a mischievous light in his eyes. "You are just a bit more paranoid than the others." He laughed. I punched him in the arm and tickled him until tears of laughter streamed down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, ok? Let's go back to the common room, or everyone will wonder where we've gone."

With that he grabbed my hand and ran off to the common room, pulling me along, both of us laughing like lunatics.

* * *

 **Well here it is. Isn't Luke such an idiotic, dastardly, lunatic... Sorry, just got carried away. Anyway, _I_ willed Luke to be like that, so its kinda my fault right? ;). And weren't Percy and Annabeth so cute? Not knowing they love each other so much? Ha ha ha. Like I told you, I love questioning my own plotline. So write your opinions in the review. Speaking of reviews, _I_ _WILL NOT POST THE NEXT CHAPTER UNTIL I GET 20 REVIEWS FOR CHAPTER 3 ALONE_. Come on! Its only 20 reviews right? I'm not asking for too much. For those who have reviewed my story, thank you. It means a lot to me. So many people view and read my story, and only 1% of the readers review it. How am I supposed to know if the rest of the 99% like it or hate it? So please, please leave a review. And I am serious, I will really not post the next chapter until I get 20 reviews. And if one user has reviewed multiple times for this chapter, all those reviews will be considered as one. ~ Aisha.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hi people! I'm back! I'm sorry for the long wait, bcoz I'd asked for 20 reviews and it took so long for you to review. Actually I didn't wait till I got 20 reviews bcoz I was so excited to post this chapter. But still, thx for the awesome reviews. Now the hard task is for me – answering all your reviews *groans*. I've also got two surprises for you guys – be sure to check out the A/N after the chapter.**

 **I'm clubbing my answers for all these people into one – Guedrnrubhjkn, all the guests, lo v 100. EmmaSEWW, Thalia Arya me, DannyPac and 1 – all of you have either asked me to update soon (which tells me you like this story) or told that you love this story one way or another. So a great big THANK YOU to you all. :)**

 **MaiChiTheFangirl – I know right? I love overprotective Percy. ;)**

 **Katycat56 – Yeah I know. I don't blame you, I'm not a patient person too. ;)**

 **And now, finally, the story.**

 **Chapter-4**

 **Percy**

When I hugged Annabeth, and she hugged me back, I felt like I was the happiest person in the whole wide world. I also realized something – I didn't just like Annabeth, I _loved_ her. I loved her stormy grey eyes, which twinkled when she laughed, I loved the way she put her honey blonde hair into a braid always, I loved the way she smirked when I made some mistake and shook her head, I loved the way she mouthed every word when she was reading – I just loved everything about her, because I was totally, utterly in love with my best friend. And I needed to tell her that, fast.

When I pulled away, the front of my robes wet with her tears, she looked a little happier. Then I told her as an answer to her earlier statement of not wanting to bother me, "Wise Girl, I'm your best friend. Nothing you tell me would bother me, you know. I wouldn't feel hurt if you told I look like an ugly ape." She laughed at this. I felt good that I made her laugh. "But if you _didn't_ tell me something, that would make me hurt. So don't keep things from me Wise Girl, and I guarantee you that I haven't kept anything from you." I added the last part as an afterthought.

"A) I'm not going to call you an ugly ape because I don't think you are one. B) Thanks for making me laugh. C) I'm really sorry I didn't tell you this and I won't keep anything from you." She answered smiling at me. I saw a strange twinkle in her eye. What was that?

I was trying to figure out what it was about and I realized that I must have been staring at her for too long, because she turned her face, blushing furiously and cleared her throat. I felt the warm blush seeping rapidly into my cheeks too. After about half a minute, Annabeth started grinning like she just won The Daily Prophet lottery.

I frowned, puzzled. "What?"

"Oh, telling someone lifted a huge load off my shoulders so I just felt like grinning," she said a little too hurriedly.

To cheer her up a little bit more, I said cheekily, "Oh well, everyone's a bit paranoid at times, you are just a bit more paranoid than the others."

I laughed and she punched me and started a tickle war which was pretty one sided, because once someone starts tickling me, I completely surrender to laughter.

""I'm sorry, I'm sorry, ok? Let's go back to the common room, or everyone will wonder where we've gone."

I grabbed her hand and dragged her along, both of us laughing our heads off.

For the rest of the day she seemed quite happy.

A couple of weeks passed by without any hassle. Annabeth had managed to avoid Luke all these days. She had also told Thalia about it, because she was her next best friend after me.

"That yellow bellied bloody little rascal," she growled when Annabeth told her. "Hey, Grey Eyes, tell me where he is, I'll make him wish he was never born." Her face became pure murderous and her electric blue eyes seemed to crackle menacingly. She rolled up her sleeves, pulled out her wand and almost started towards the door, if we hadn't stopped her.

"Whoa, calm down Thals," Annabeth said, a little amused.

Thalia stops trying to make her way to the portrait hole and turns to Annabeth, "As for you, why didn't you tell me this before, huh? You're gonna pay for that Grey Eyes." Thalia got a maniacal look in her eyes and started tickling Annabeth. Yeah, I know, tickling? But it was pretty effective against my blonde best friend who would roll around helplessly if somebody started tickling her. Thalia didn't let her go until Jason came up ten minutes later and threatened to put Thalia in detention if she didn't stop.

As September wore on, Annabeth thought lesser and lesser about that jerk, Luke. She became the sarcastic, witty, brilliant, steely Wise Girl again. My Wise Girl.

One Monday morning, as I was coming down from the boys' dormitory, Annabeth called out to me. "Percy, the Quidditch trials are today at 6:00. You're going right?"

"Yep. Never missed one. And since I've been on the team for two years, I think I'll sail through," I told her, swinging my arm around her shoulders. I had played Chaser for the Quidditch team from third year so I was pretty sure that I'd get back on.

We headed to the Great Hall, jabbering about Quidditch. Annabeth had started playing Keeper from last year, so we talked a lot about Quidditch. As we approached the Hall, Annabeth stopped abruptly, staring in horror at someone in front of her. Annabeth looked at only one person like that and it was – "Luke," Annabeth whispered.

My best friend looked ready to faint. She stood rooted to the spot, staring at Luke who was laughing and joking with some of his Slytherin buddies. He happened to turn around and he spotted Annabeth, and smirked. A white-hot snake of anger reared inside me. He was not going to win this fight. (If it even was a fight) I turned to Annabeth and whispered into her ear, "Hey Wise Girl? D'you hear me? If you are always afraid of him like this, and you avoid him, then it means that he's won. Do you want Luke to win Wise Girl? Huh?"

A hard edge appeared in her eyes, "I can't let him win, not after what he has done to me."

"Good. So if you don't want him to win, you'll have to walk straight in front of him, your head held high, like he never had an effect on you. After all, you can dock points from him, or heck, even put him into detention if he tries to do something to you. And besides, you have me."

Annabeth seemed heartened by this little pep talk. She smiled a tiny smile when she heard the 'you have me' comment. She slid her hand into mine and laced her fingers with mine (my stomach was a cage for millions of butterflies and my heart was threatening to come out of my body) and surged forward, her head held high and looking only towards the Great Hall which was right ahead of us.

As she passed Luke, out of the corner of my eye I could see the smirk on Luke's face slide off, and I struggled to supress a laugh bubbling up my throat. We were soon making our way to the Gryffindor table. Annabeth and I caught each other's eyes, and laugh burst out of both of us.

"That was great, Wise Girl. His smirk slid off his face like Stinksap!" We flopped down in our usual places. Thalia, who sat right opposite to us, looked at us curiously and asked, "Can you please tell me what the hell is wrong with you two? You're laughing like lunatics!"

So Annabeth narrated the whole incident, causing Thalia to break down into a short burst of laughter. When she calmed down, she turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "That was a really good, brilliant thing you did back there Kelp Head. Seems that your head is not full of kelp after all." Thalia sounded mildly impressed. I stuck my tongue out at her. Pinecone Face turned to Annabeth and told her, sounding a tad more serious, "Annie, you should listen to Percy. You can't act so vulnerable in front of that jerk, you know."

Annabeth glared at her omelette like it had slapped her grandmother. "Yes, yes I know. It's just that…every time I see him, I remember that horrible night at camp." Her eyes softened as she turned to me. "Thank you Percy. You made me realize that I shouldn't be so scared and horrified every time I see him. He shouldn't control my feelings." She again laced her fingers with mine (and my heart started doing jumping jacks _again_ ) and stared into my eyes, her eyes as stormy as the sea.

"Ehemm.." Thalia smirked. "Please don't do that again."

"Do what again?"

Thalia shrugged, "Oh you know, staring into each other's eyes like love-struck idiots. I've had enough of that over the summer from Jason and Piper."

"Thalia!" Annabeth and I cried in unison.

"C'mon Percy, we gotta go to class," Annabeth glared at Thalia and got up from the table. I had barely started my breakfast, so I told Annabeth, "Umm, I really need to finish my breakfast. You know, the most important meal of the day and all that."

"Fine," she huffed and stalked away.

I finished breakfast ten minutes later (wolfing down a stack of pancakes, scrambled eggs, omelette, jammy bread and cornflakes in record time) and stood up to go to my first class – History of Magic (a class which almost put me to sleep every time I had it) when Thalia stopped me. "Hey Perce? I'm no ace on relationships, but I'll tell you this – I know you love Annabeth, and I think you should tell her soon." I was very surprised to hear this from _Thalia_ of all the people, but I asked her, "I'm afraid Thalia, what if she rejects me? Then I'll lose her altogether."

"Percy, do you really think that Annabeth will reject you?" I nodded. Thalia groaned, "Kelp Head, how can you be so _thick_? Isn't it obvious that she loves you too? Just think it over, okay?" With that she got up and hurried to her class. I checked my watch and saw that I had only five minutes to get to the History of Magic classroom, so I shook out of my daze and raced in the direction of the room, thinking of the words Thalia had just told me.

The day passed quickly and it was time for the Quidditch trials. I got changed into my red and gold robes and bounded towards the pitch. The Keeper trials were going on when I arrived and Annabeth was at one end and a big guy with broad shoulders who I remembered to be in sixth year at the other end.

I went over to Rachel Elizabeth Dare, sixth year and the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and asked her, "Hey Rachel, what's the score?" Rachel was a very different girl – she cared nothing of her freckles (she had a lot of them) and her wild, red hair which she always left untamed. Her robes were always paint-splattered, because she was a great artist. She was quick-tongued and fiery. She came from a rich pure-blood family (just like Annabeth, I was a half-blood) but she was disgusted by them, because they were always pestering her to join some fancy school for 'graceful magic' (whatever that meant) and treated Rachel like a showpiece.

Rachel answered, "4 saves to Annabeth and 2 to Brian," she said pointing to the big guy who now had a name. "I'm conducting Chaser trials along with Keeper trials, so you'll be on in the third game after this. 2 Chasers against 1 Keeper. I'm judging on skill, agility, style and how many goals you can score in a row."

Needless to say, Annabeth won and was told to join the group of selected Keepers off the pitch. There were three of them there, and I felt that Annabeth was going to win the place in the team. Rachel called out six names – 2 Keepers for each side and 4 Chasers, including herself and me, since almost all trials were over. I was paired with the Captain and we marched over to our side of the pitch. I mounted my Nimbus 2004 and kicked off from the ground. I felt the elated feeling which I felt only when I was flying, expanding in my chest.

The game was a cakewalk. We knew each other's game so well that we beat the other team 100-20. Rachel landed and called all the people whom she had selected forward. I joined the circle which had formed around her. There was hopeful muttering all around the circle. I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Nice flying there, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told me, smiling.

"Back at you."

"Quiet down, will you? Otherwise you'll never know who's on the team," Rachel yelled. The murmuring died down and Rachel began to read from the list. We were to have a new Seeker and maybe new Chasers altogether. But as I found out there were four new people in the team – the Seeker – a slender girl from fourth year named Felicity Stuarts and a new Chaser from fourth again, a guy named Julian O'Hara and two new Beaters – George McKinley and Cynthia Beauregarde. Rachel (well, duh), Annabeth and I had made it back on the team.

Rachel and I stayed back to discuss strategy. I told Annabeth to carry on without me, as discussing strategy would take very very _very_ long with Rachel, who focused on every tiny little detail. I watched Annabeth go, until she disappeared through the doorway.

Rachel watched me with narrowed eyes. She was very good at reading people so I was sure she had guessed what my feelings were for Annabeth. Rachel said, "You know, I think Thalia was right."

"W-what?" I asked her fearing the answer.

"You're crushing on your best friend, _hard_ ," Rachel answered, a tiny smile playing on her lips.

"Yeah, well. I'm not crushing on her. I _love_ her."

"But why don't you tell her, you idiot?"

I sighed and mumbled, "What if she doesn't like me and rejects me? I'll lose her altogether."

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that," Rachel glared at me. I said my statement a little louder. Rachel sighed, "Perseus Jackson, you're such a coward. Go tell her. That's the only way you can find out. Now shall we discuss our strategy?" The red-head asked as if nothing had happened.

The next hour or so, we discussed the various manoeuvres and tricks for fooling players of other teams. I dragged myself back to the brightly-lit building, completely exhausted, but I replayed what Thalia and Rachel had told me today and made up my mind – I was going to tell Annabeth Chase I loved her, no matter what happened.

 **I know – not one of my best works. But the next chapter's gonna be awesome, you'll see. *winks* Anyway, coming to the surprises I mentioned earlier –  
1) I'm not keeping any review targets this time – some reviews which I got told me it was a bad idea.  
2) I'm uploading a new story! Go check it out. (I'm uploading the prologue today)**

 **P.S. Happy Diwali to all my Indian readers! Are you guys bursting crackers? I'm not. I'm going green. ;) ~Aisha**


	6. Author's Note

**Author's Note**

 **Hi guys. This is Aisha here. *Dodges things thrown at her*. I'm sorry for not updating for so long. But I have many valid reasons for it.**

 **For one thing my computer crashed. But I have a tab. So I could've typed on that. But listen further. I'm my grade's Cultural Captain (there are 3 divisions in Grade 8). I had to organize the cultural fair of 2015-16 of High School (in India Grade 8-10 is High school) along with the other two Captains. It's a HUGE event. If ONE thing goes wrong, we're done for. Though I had help from assistants, it still took a long time. Then, on top of that I had my quarterly test. So I had to study, train the orators for Welcome Speech, Vote of Thanks, etc. for the fair AND be in the Cultural Committee. Oh also, I had my badminton tournament and I'm Captain. So you see, I've really not slept properly this month. I swear on myself and my Percy Jackson books that I'm not lying. You might think, isn't that a little too much for one girl? But yeah, being 'popular' in my school is being a super-active extrovert. But I enjoyed every (well, almost every) moment this month. Now the fair and tournament are finally over and my tests are going on. I'll be getting my Christmas-New Year holidays from 23** **rd** **. I'll make it up for you then,**

 **Super-tired. ~ Aisha**


	7. Chapter 5

**Hi guys! First of all a great big SORRY to all my readers for the long wait. I really don't want to sound pathetic making excuses, so let me just say I was lazy, and I had to rewrite this chapter many times. I really sorry about it. I hope you will not stop reading it just because of my tardiness.**

 **Secondly, I'll not be updating The Dark Days Past for a while, because I can't juggle two stories at a time. I just wanted your opinion on how it will turn out.**

 **Anyway, hope you'll enjoy this chapter...as the Percabeth fluff begins!**

 **Here are the replies for the reviews - to nia2012, MaiChiTheFangirl, EmmaSEWW, C123002 & DannyPac, I know you guys love Percabeth (you're gonna see it in this chapter) and my story (I hope that doesn't make me sound like a snob), so thanks! :)**

 **KatyCat56 - So glad you like the story! And don't worry, I don't think you sound snobbish. :)**

 **Guest - That's why I stopped it. ;)**

 **DM4 - Happy to know you like it! Well, if you would die if I didn't update within 8 days...you should be dead by now right? ;P ;D. Just joking though. And don't worry, I have other plans for Luke and Annabeth.**

 **StuffandThings16 - Thanks for your concern and happy to know you like the story! :D**

 **MaiChiTheFangirl - Thanks for your concern. :D**

 **Now, after the replies and excessive use of emotes, finally, here's the new chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter-5**

 **Annabeth**

"Hey, Grey Eyes, did you see the notice board?" Thalia asked, popping a strawberry tart which Percy and I had brought from the kitchen, into her mouth.

"Nope, why d'you ask?" I questioned, looking up from my book, titled _Architecture through the Ages – An Overview of Wizarding Constructions._ It was a normal October Saturday. Thalia and I were lounging in the common room. Percy had gone to the library to find a book for his DADA homework and Jason was on rounds. Since we had nothing else to do, we were sitting by the fire, lazing about.

Thalia rolled her eyes and said, "Well, let me tell you then, tomorrow is the thirty first, Halloween. So, tomorrow we can visit Hogsmeade."

"Oh," was all I said. To tell the truth, I knew this (because, it was quite obvious, we _always_ could go to Hogsmeade on Halloween.) but I was disappointed that Percy had not asked me out yet. He was acting very odd these days, nervous and jittery. I knew him so well, that I knew Percy wanted ask something or tell something, but couldn't spill it out. I was hoping that it was because he wanted to ask me out to Hogsmeade, but he had not said anything till now. Maybe….maybe he wanted to ask somebody _else_ out. What a horrifying thought.

I decided to speak with Thalia on this topic. After all, she knew us both very well.

"Err….Thalia, if you don't mind, can I ask you something?" I asked her tentatively.

Thalia smirked, like she knew what the 'something' meant. But all the same, she nodded.

"D'you, d'you Percy…Percy likes…..me? You know, in _that_ way, to borrow a phrase from the first year vernacular?" I blurted it out like a long held secret. At first, all Thalia did was blink, like she did not understand what I was saying. Then, she just burst out laughing, like _authentic_ laughing – rolling over the floor, clutching at her sides and all that.

I just stared at her.

"Oh…for the love of Merlin…you both are _hilarious_ ," she said, after she'd calmed down. "Oh, isn't it so obvious, Annie? He loves you, let alone _like_ you. He's always staring at you, like you're the best thing in the world. I'll say that much." She said, staring at me with her electric-blue eyes.

I felt relieved, elated, too. Here, I was worrying that Percy liked me as a friend. But really, what Thalia told was right – it _was_ so obvious.

"So, do you think he will ask me out to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" I asked Thalia. Suddenly, there was a mischievous glint in her eyes, but she turned poker-faced.

"No idea."

"You know something, don't you?"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

" _No._ "

" _Yes."_

" _NO."_

" _YES."_

Our voices had risen almost to shouts. Then, Thalia calmed down and gave in, "Okay, Annie, I _do_ know something, but it's not my place to tell you. You'll see. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to make myself presentable for my date with Nico D'Angelo." With that, she stalked off towards the girl's dormitories. I sighed. I hated being kept in the dark about anything whatsoever. I hoped that the secret Thalia was referring to was that Percy would take me out for Hogsmeade.

I checked my watch. It was 12:30 in the afternoon. Percy had been gone for two hours. That dork was probably desperately searching for a book in the library for our essay on Jinxes and Counter-Jinxes. I'd better go and help him out. After all, I had to return the book I had and get the next one in the series about Modern Wizarding Architecture.

* * *

I walked towards the library, absent-mindedly flipping through the book in hand. I was walking without seeing ahead, absorbed in one of the articles in the book, when I collided hard with someone and fell down.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." I told the person, dusting my skirt. The person whom I had collided with had carefully set blonde hair and the green sweater emblazoned with the Slytherin serpent.

"No, biggie," he said. I recognized the voice. I knew who it was. Oh. My. God. Please not him, _anyone_ but him. Please. _Please_.

"Um….I have to go. Sorry for that," I whispered, trying not to show him my voice, because I knew he would recognize it. Then, I bolted off. But then I realized something was missing. My book. It was lying there.

Ugh. Why me? I asked myself. I slowly turned and walked back to the spot where we had collided. He was coming towards me, the book in hand and an easy smile on his face. What a fake. It did not reach his eyes, which remained cold and unyielding. The smile disappeared the moment he saw my face. The smile was replaced by a smirk. His eyes turned predatory, it looked almost maniacal. I held my head high and walked towards him.

"Hello, look who it is," he growled. I shivered hearing that sound. "Mm, you look better than last year." He passed a hand over my back, his lips brushing over my jaw, to my neck. I felt like I was going to be sick. But I couldn't. I had to be brave. I kicked him in the….well, let's just say where the sun doesn't shine, with all my strength. He yelled out loudly and dropped the book. I grabbed it and ran as fast as my legs would carry to the library.

* * *

I wanted to cry, but tears would not come to my eyes. I was happy. I didn't want to drown in a puddle of tears whenever I encountered that…..son of a witch (replace the _w_ with a _b_ ). I entered the library, my eyes searching for a mop of jet-black hair and green eyes. I found Percy after a few seconds. He was putting back some books into the right shelves. I approached him and smiled. "Well, hello, Seaweed Brain. Trouble finding the books?"

"Err, yes actually," he admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. He was so adorable.

"Finished, then?" I asked him.

"Yup!" He said. He was obviously relieved, because the essay was a nasty one. Professor Weinberg was downright wicked sometimes, when she came to homework. But she was a superb teacher.

"Um, Wise Girl, can I ask you something?" Percy asked, suddenly nervous.

"Shoot."

"Umm….well…it's just that….well….you see…umm," Percy was stammering so much. It was so adorable.

"Spit it out, Seaweed Brain," I said, suppressing my laughter.

"Umm…willyougotoHogsmeadewithmetomorrow?" He asked, with a hopeful expression in his eyes. I smiled a small smile.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I teased him, although I knew perfectly what he told. "A little less like a Firebolt this time."

"Okay." He took a deep breath. "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow? Like, like a date?" I smiled widely. Percy was _finally_ asking me out. I could have danced down the whole corridor. I was so happy. Percy looked at me, his green eyes shining with hope.

"Consider it a date," I said, laughing. "I have never seen you so nervous, Seaweed Brain." He laughed too, and took my hand. I had always scoffed at Piper's romance books, where they always claimed that a spark of electricity ran through somebody's skin when his/her true love touched him/her. But I had to admit, it was true – or at least, it _felt_ like a spark of electricity went through my hand when he touched my palm.

"Now shall we go down for some lunch? I'm starving," Percy asked me. I nodded, and we set out, talking about Thalia's 'date' with Nico D'Angelo and how we were going to tease her for that and a million other things, that finally made Luke slip out of my head.

Things were finally looking up.

* * *

"Ugh, I _really_ don't know what to wear, Thals," I told Thalia, who was sitting on my bed, looking bored and sucking on a lollipop. She was here to help me select my outfit for my day out with Percy, but she was not much of a help, being such a tomboy herself.

"Annie," she drawled. Oh, how I hated that nickname. "I really don't know. Piper's better at such things, you should have asked her." She was right. Piper really had a flair for clothes – wizarding or Muggle. But she was Hufflepuff, so she couldn't come here to pick out my clothes. "Anyway, I should get going now. I'm ready, so I should go and meet Nico." Thalia turned slightly pink at this.

I smirked and asked her, "Got yourself a boyfriend, have you?"

"Yes, any problem with that?" she snapped. I put my hands up and shrugged, but she was already gone.

I returned to digging out clothes from my trunk. Finally, I settled for a white V-neck full-sleeved t-shirt which fit snugly a pair of black jeans and my black coat, as it was chilly. I put on a silver charm bracelet, which Percy had given as a birthday gift last year (it had the charm of a silver owl), paired with silver owl earrings, and a silver chain with an owl pendant. That was a lot of silver. And a lot of owls. I had already put my hair in a French braid (thank God for hairdressing Charms). Since the theme of my accessories was silver owls, I put a couple of silver clips, with tiny owls at the, tip on my hair. I was really mad about owls. All the owl accessories were either gifts from my father or Percy – they found my obsession with owls endearing and amusing. I slipped into my ankle-length black boots and looked at myself in the mirror for one last time. After I deemed myself ready, I stepped out of the dorm and made my way down the stairs.

* * *

Percy was waiting for me in the Entrance Hall. Usually, all our friends would go together, but now, everyone were out with their own dates – Jason and Piper, Frank and Hazel, Leo and a Ravenclaw girl named Reyna (this must be at least the twentieth girl Leo asked out. Poor Leo, he never seemed to find the 'right girl', as he said.), Thalia and Nico, who was a Gryffindor sixth-year. And Percy and I. it had been over 24 hours, but it still hadn't sunk in fully – I was going on a _date_ with my _crush,_ Percy. I felt giddy with excitement and happiness.

Percy was wearing a dark blue, almost black Henley t-shirt that showed off his muscular arms with beige jeans, with a brown coat slung over his back. He looked so handsome that I almost fainted with giddiness. He caught my eye and grinned his happiest, goofiest grin. I smiled back. I approached him and he said, "Hello Wise Girl, you're looking beautiful." And he kissed my cheek. I blushed. He saw all my owl accessories and chuckled, "Still obsessed with owls, I see."

I blushed even more. I hope he couldn't tell. "Could say the same about you, Seaweed Brain, you're looking handsome." His smile got wider and he asked, putting on his coat. "So, shall we go?"

"Right." I said. He held out a hand to me and I took it, feeling the same electric spark I had felt, where his hand touched mine. We were accosted by Filch, wheezing and bent over, who demanded our signed forms, eyeing us suspiciously and warning us not to by Dungbombs or Stink Pellets, otherwise he would be after our blood. I did not take him seriously as he was shorter than me and spoke in a wheezing voice which was not one bit threatening. In fact, I was trying to supress my laughter. I could see that Percy was in a similar state.

We burst out laughing once we were out of earshot. "He is priceless!" Percy said, breathless from laughter. Piper and Jason, just ahead of us, saw our joined hands and looked at me, excitedly, mouthing _Are you going on a date?_ I just nodded. She must have squealed, because Jason looked weirded out. I gave her a threatening glare and she turned her attention back to Jason.

"What?" Percy asked. He had noticed my glare towards Piper.

"Oh, nothing, Piper is going a little overboard, because we are going on a date." I rolled my eyes. Percy gave a chuckle. There was a comfortable silence between us. It was about three in the afternoon. There was a chilly breeze, and leaves rustled cheerfully, on the ground and on the trees – it was a riot of colours: red, orange, yellow and brown.

The silence was rudely disrupted by a girl in skimpy clothes – a pair of jean shorts which barely covered a quarter of her thighs, and a shirt with a very, very low cut. Really, just because the school let us dress in our Muggle clothing to Hogsmeade doesn't mean we should take advantage of it, particularly by dressing in slutty clothes. She had a mane of long, shiny, strawberry blonde hair and wide blue eyes. She could have been beautiful, if she did not put so much of make-up. I recognized her instantly. It was Allie Newton, from Slytherin, who seemed to have datedat least half of the fifth year boys.

She came and stood in front of us and _put her hand on Percy's chest._ Of all the nerve! Didn't she see that I was with Percy? She smiled, sickly sweet and said in an artificial, honey voice, "Hello, Perce. Going to Hogsmeade?"

Percy had a polite look which said _Please back off before I jinx you_ but Ms. Skimpy Clothes didn't get the point. She continued, without waiting for an answer, "Why don't you come with me? We could have some _fun._ " She trailed her hand up Percy's chest, who was looking very uncomfortable.

Anger exploded in me. I opened my mouth to say something but Percy beat me to it. "I don't want to, I don't even know your name. Besides I already have a date with my beautiful best friend here." He said, with his brilliant smile. I felt like my heart was melting. Take _that_ Ms. Slut!

Newton's face twisted like she had tasted something sour. She turned, huffed and stalked away.

As for Percy and I, we just looked at each other for a second and I said, "That was _weird."_ For the second time we both burst out laughing. Then we talked about Quidditch, the upcoming match with Slytherin and many other things, until we reached Hogsmeade.

This was going to be a fun trip.

* * *

 **Yass! Percabeth prevails. Screw you - Allie Newton! Anyway about the next update - it should sometime the next weekend. I hope this chapter made up for the long wait. And belated Happy New Year to all of my readers! ~ Aisha.**

 **NOTE** **In the prologue I'd mentioned Nico, but I didn't mention that he was Percy's cousin or anything. Let me tell you that he is Percy's friend. Just so you know. I didn't make him Percy's cousin because I wanted Thalico later. They're so cute!**


	8. Chapter 6

**Oh my God! I have not updated for almost 4 months! I'm so so sorry! Honestly. I don't have any excuse. I just was too lazy. Humph.**

 **Anyway. Thank u for ALL the reviews, faves and follows! I really love u guys.**

 **Here are my answers for all reviews.**

 **MaiChiTheFangirl – Again, as always thank you for your enthusiasm and yes, Percabeth will prevail!**

 **nia2012 – Thank you! Sorry for the long wait!**

 **EmmaSEWW – Sorry for the long wait!**

 **DannyPac – Thank you! But I'm afraid you've waited too long for the next! Sorry!**

 **Guest – Well, Percy is not going to beat the shit out of Luke, but yeah, something like that.**

 **marbear316 – I'm so so SO sorry I didn't update soon!**

 **demigod. everafter– Hmm… nice idea, will definitely consider it! ;). Sorry for the late update! Yes, in this chapter, there IS going to be more Luke trouble. Read on!**

 **DerpMuffinPJO - Thanks!**

 **Wiseowl – I was SO happy when I read you're review. I certainly don't think I'm the best but thanks! And the cliffhangers come from reading too much of Uncle Rick! ;) Since have reviewed very recently, I hope it's soon enough an update!**

 **Now I'm done with all the reviews, read on! And I promise I'll update soon! ~ A**

* * *

 **Chapter – 6**

 **Annabeth**

I tapped my fingers on the dark-wood table in the Three Broomsticks. Percy had gone to get the Butterbeers and was held up since there was a long queue. I sighed and studied the small space around me. It was decorated for Halloween. Bats and spiders and pumpkins swarmed the place. Occasionally, the bats would swoop down or the spiders would crawl up to the tables. I shuddered at the thought. If there was one thing I hated it was spiders. Ugh.

A shadow loomed over me. I smiled and turned back, fully expecting Percy to be there. But it was Luke, wearing an icy blue pullover to match his cold eyes and his blonde hair carefully styled.

He smirked and ran his eyes over me, making me shiver. "Hello, _Annabeth_."

I refused to be hounded by him. I met his stare with a hate-filled one of my own and demanded in a steady voice, "What do you want, Luke Castellan?"

"Now, now, what's with the unfriendliness? You left so rudely yesterday, kicking me and now you're going all formal? That's not the way you treat friends, Annabeth Chase." He shook his head. His stare was cruel and greedy. All I wanted was him to stay away from me. And it never happened.

I struggled to keep my resolution to stay where I was and fight. But a part of me wanted to bolt and get out of his reach.

I stood up from the chair and faced him, my eyes burning with rage, desperation and fear. "We were never friends, Luke. You might have thought we were, and I thought so too. But that night, I saw what you were really made of. You stay away from me and I'll stay quiet. Mess with me and you'll end up as a frog or something worse," I spit it out to him.

He didn't seem the least bit scared. Luke actually _laughed_. I gritted my teeth. He clearly had underestimated my magical prowess. Hmm… maybe he needed a demonstration. I was just reaching for my pocket when he grabbed my other hand in a vice like grip and hissed, "Nobody can get away from me, Annabeth Chase. And you can't too. I will have you… no matter what." I could feel his breath on my face. He was so close.

I gave an involuntary shiver and was about to shout at him to get his hands off of me when I heard someone shout the exact same words, "Get your hands off her before I break your face." Percy.

Luke turned to him and said, "Hey, a friendly chat. No offence." He smiled insincerely and Percy growled.

"You touch her again and I'll _really_ break your face with all the other bones in your body." His eyes were five shades darker from anger and he looked murderous. Nobody had got as angry for me and protective of me as Percy.

Luke looked innocent and raised his eyebrows as if questioning why Percy was threatening him when he had done no wrong. I snorted. If only he was innocent as he looked. He turned away and stalked through the crowd and out of the Three Broomsticks.

Percy turned towards me and asked, "Are you hurt, Wise Girl?"

"No he just grabbed my wrist, that's it. Don't sweat it."

"Hmph." From his expression and reaction I realized that he still wasn't convinced.

"C'mon, Seaweed Brain. Nothing happened to me. And if it does, my knight in shining armor will save me, right?" I said, smiling, and hugging Percy.

He still was a bit angry, I could see, but his eyes lightened back to the beautiful sea-green it usually was and his lips curled into a smile. "Yeah right," he looked around and said, "We should probably get out of here. Half the pub is staring at us."

I was aware of the crowd for the first time since Luke approached me. Most of them near us had witnessed the fight and were gaping openly. Even Madam Rosmerta was looking curiously as she piled used Butterbeer bottles in a corner.

"Yup, Seaweed Brain. C'mon, let's go to our place." We grabbed our drinks and made our way quickly through the crowds and down the street towards the Shrieking Shack.

* * *

In our third year, during our Christmas visit to Hogsmeade, we'd decided to explore the Shrieking Shack. We'd accidentally stumbled across a grove of trees, quite hidden from the rest of the world. It was like another beautiful planet itself. Wildflowers and grass grew in the clearing between the trees during spring and during winter it was a Winter Wonderland. Percy and I used to visit the place every time we visited the village, and called it 'our place'.

We passed Luke on the way there, near Dervish & Banges. Percy growled. He started towards Luke but I laid a restraining hand on him and he fell silent. He was silent for the rest of the way.

Our haven was as beautiful as ever. Since it was autumn, the leaves were a riot of colours. Wildflowers lit up the clearing and multi-coloured leaves littered it.

We sat down on the grass, side by side, swigging out of our Butterbeers. We stayed quiet for a long time, though it was not exactly a peaceful quiet. Finally I sighed and broke it. "You're still angry with me, Perce. Aren't you?"

"Angry with _you_? Of course, I'm not angry with you! I'm angry with that piece of shit called Luke. He never gives up, does he? You've made it clear that you want _nothing_ to do with him, but still he persists. If he comes near you again, I swear I'll hex him or break his bones or something." He fumed and I let him get it all out. After that I knew he would be regular old Seaweed Brain again.

But I was touched by his words. No one ever had cared for me like this. My mom and dad were too wrapped up in their work to notice and my twin brothers were still babies. Percy was everything to me. A confidante, a protector, best friend and a million other things. That's why I loved him. He made me feel wanted and cared for.

I laid my head on his shoulder and he put an arm around me. I whispered, "No one has ever cared for me like this, Seaweed Brain."

He tightened his hold on me. "You deserve it, Wise Girl."

I looked up to him. He had a strange expression on his face I couldn't quite read. We were so close….. I thought I should close the gap.

He cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, I was thinking, since Luke made your life miserable, we should make his life miserable too."

I was disappointed. I thought he was going to kiss me. Apparently not. But I tried not to show it, and asked, "And how d'you suggest to do this?"

A mischievous grin crept up on his face. "We're going to prank him."

* * *

An hour later, we had worked out all the details of the prank. We headed back to the school, in eager anticipation of tomorrow's trick.

As we approached the Fat Lady, Percy turned to me. He smiled the grin I love, and said, "I really had a good time today, Wise Girl."

My mouth went dry. "I- I had a good time too, Seaweed Brain."

Like earlier today, we were only inches apart. He brushed a piece of hair away from my face. There was a palpable energy field around us.

I noticed Thalia approaching us with Nico. She wolf-whistled and called to Percy, "What are you waiting for Kelp Head? Go for it!"

Percy grinned and closed the gap between us, kissing me with his soft lips.

* * *

 **Yessss! Percabeth prevails! What did you think of this chapter? It was rather short... oh well. *shrugs* Please read and review! ~A**


End file.
